Various devices exist for measuring the depth of a gum pocket in periodontal or other dental treatments. These devices generally include inserting some form of probe into the pocket and having a scale associated with the probe so as to measure the depth of the pocket. Such devices are of varying reliability because their effectiveness depends to a great extent upon requiring a uniform force from measurement to measurement in inserting the probe into the pocket where manual pressure is used to apply that force. The reading is usually visually taken and manually applied by the operator. As a result, there is a virtual certainity that uniform and reliable results will not be obtained. The margin of error is reported to be .+-.2-3 mm.